Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 786
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Wearable Alcohol Biosensors (SBIR) (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PA-18-786) supports Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects aimed at creating a new generation of wearable alcohol monitoring technology. The core goal is to push small businesses to design and produce a non-invasive, discreet wearable device that can monitor blood alcohol levels in real time, which implies continuous or near-continuous measurement rather than occasional spot checks. The emphasis on being both wearable and discreet signals that the device should be practical for everyday use, comfortable, and socially unobtrusive, with the kind of form factor and usability that could realistically be adopted outside of controlled laboratory settings.
A key priority in this announcement is the measurement approach: the NIH is most interested in methods that quantify alcohol in blood or in interstitial fluid, rather than techniques that infer alcohol levels by detecting ethanol that has diffused through and out of the skin (often referred to as transdermal alcohol detection). In plain terms, this means the program is looking for solutions that are closer to directly assessing internal alcohol concentration, with the expectation that these approaches may offer improvements in accuracy, timeliness, and clinical relevance compared with skin-exuded alcohol sensing, which can be affected by lag times and environmental or physiological variables. The "real time" requirement also suggests a strong interest in minimizing delays between alcohol intake and device readout, along with producing data streams that are actionable for health, safety, or clinical monitoring contexts.
The award mechanism is an SBIR grant using NIH activity codes R43 and R44. These correspond to the SBIR Phase I (R43) and Phase II (R44) pathway, where Phase I typically supports early feasibility and proof-of-concept work and Phase II supports further research and development toward a more complete, validated product. The notice is labeled "Clinical Trial Optional," which generally indicates that applicants may propose studies that meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial if it makes sense for their development plan, but they are not required to include a clinical trial component to be responsive. That flexibility can matter for device developers because some projects may be ready to test the device in human participants, while others may still be focused on engineering, analytical validation, and prototype refinement before human testing is appropriate.
Eligibility is limited to small businesses, consistent with the SBIR program structure, and the announcement explicitly notes restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. At the same time, the announcement indicates that "foreign components," as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowed in some circumstances, which usually means a U.S.-based applicant might be able to include certain well-justified elements of work performed outside the United States if NIH policies and approvals are satisfied. Because these distinctions can be technical and situation-dependent, the opportunity directs applicants to consult the official eligibility details for specifics.
Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity (Opportunity Category: Discretionary) offered by the NIH (Agency Name: National Institutes of Health) under CFDA 93.273, with the opportunity created on 2018-05-15 and an original closing date listed as 2021-04-05. The listing provided does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, which typically means those figures were either not set as fixed caps in the summary fields or were provided elsewhere in the full funding opportunity announcement. Overall, the program is aimed at accelerating innovation in wearable alcohol biosensing by supporting U.S. small businesses that can deliver a non-invasive, user-friendly device capable of real-time monitoring, with the strongest preference given to technologies that more directly quantify alcohol levels in blood or interstitial fluid.Apply for PA 18 786
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Wearable Alcohol Biosensors (SBIR) (R43/R44- Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2018-05-15.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
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| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Wearable Alcohol Biosensors (STTR) (R41/R42- Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PA 18 785 Funding Number: PA 18 785 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Pathway to Independence Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Required) Apply for RFA OD 18 008 Funding Number: RFA OD 18 008 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| The Mechanistic Role of the Microbiome in the Pathobiology of Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Diseases (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 784 Funding Number: PA 18 784 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Pathway to Independence Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA OD 18 007 Funding Number: RFA OD 18 007 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Precision Imaging of Oral Lesions (R21-Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 18 788 Funding Number: PAR 18 788 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| USAID/Nigeria Orphans and Vulnerable Children Social Service Activities (OSSA) Apply for RFI 620 18 OVC Funding Number: RFI 620 18 OVC Agency: Nigeria USAID-Abuja Category: Health Funding Amount: $70,000,000 |
| Advancing Evidence into Practice through Shared, Interoperable Clinical Decision Support Resources (U18) Apply for PA 18 792 Funding Number: PA 18 792 Agency: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Category: Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| AHRQ Small Research Grant Program (R03) Apply for PA 18 794 Funding Number: PA 18 794 Agency: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Category: Health Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| AHRQ Health Services Research Projects (R01) Apply for PA 18 795 Funding Number: PA 18 795 Agency: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Category: Health Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| AHRQ Health Services Research Demonstration and Dissemination Grants (R18) Apply for PA 18 793 Funding Number: PA 18 793 Agency: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Category: Health Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| Biomarkers Discovery In Parkinsonism (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 800 Funding Number: PAR 18 800 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NIOSH Small Research Grant Program Apply for PAR 18 797 Funding Number: PAR 18 797 Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA Category: Health Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award Apply for PAR 18 799 Funding Number: PAR 18 799 Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA Category: Health Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| NIOSH Exploratory/Developmental Grant Program (R21) Apply for PAR 18 798 Funding Number: PAR 18 798 Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Occupational Safety and Health Research (R01) Apply for PAR 18 812 Funding Number: PAR 18 812 Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA Category: Health Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| Yemen Systems, Health and Resiliency Project (SHARP) Apply for 72027918R00001 Funding Number: 72027918R00001 Agency: Agency for International Development Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Better Defining Growth Medium to Improve Reproducibility of Cell Culture (SBIR) (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 815 Funding Number: PA 18 815 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Better Defining Growth Medium to Improve Reproducibility of Cell Culture (STTR) (R41/R42 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 816 Funding Number: PA 18 816 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Lab to Marketplace: Tools for Brain and Behavioral Research (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PA 18 819 Funding Number: PA 18 819 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $450,000 |
| Alzheimer's Drug-Development Program (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 820 Funding Number: PAR 18 820 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
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